CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — In the most anticipated matchup of the season between two intense rivals, it was Clarksville High that came away with the defensive stop it needed to get past Rossview 42-35 in a Region 7-5A showdown Friday night at Hilda J. Richardson Field.

The Wildcats had trouble stopping Rossview all night as the Hawks, trailing but driving with less than four minutes left in the game, moved in position to take a shot at the end zone.

Hawks quarterback Jordan Justice was deadly accurate throughout the night but had two incomplete passes with his team at Clarksville’s 36-yard line. On Rossview’s third-down play, Clarksville got to Justice for a sack and Justice’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete as the Wildcats took over on downs.

However, the Hawks were wisely conservative with their timeouts and used all three while keeping Clarksville from producing a first down on the Cats’ ensuing possession. That left Rossview with one more shot with less than two minutes remaining.

Justice’ first-down pass, however, was picked off by safety Ryan Streeter to preserve the victory for Clarksville (5-0, 2-0) in a wild one. The Wildcats, who are tied atop the region standings, will play co-first-place team Henry County next week.

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Rossview quarterback Jordan Justice runs for a first down during the first half of their game against Clarksville High Friday night.(Photo: George Robinson/The Leaf-Chronicle)

“We were trying to play a trick (pass) coverage on Rossview the whole night,” Clarksville coach Isaac Shelby said in relation to Streeter's interception. “That was kind of our plan. We wanted to show them one thing. We were trying to throw a trap coverage on them but Rossview came out and showed trips with a tight end and it busted our coverage and it took us a while to gather back. At the end of the game when Rossview had to go back to two-wideouts, our trap coverage worked. It just worked two hours later than we wanted.”

It was the end of a score-fest that saw both teams roll up huge chunks of yards. Clarksville finished with 457 yards, 412 on the ground while quarterback J.J. Jones ran 27 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Wildcats running back Brevon Johnson had a big night with 112 yards on 14 carries and three scores.

"What we do is really demanding on the quarterback's brain," Shelby said. "Me and him process a lot of information in 30 seconds. He played really, really well and played within himself. He wasn't very good on reads last week, but I'd have to look at tape, but he was pretty darn good (Friday)."

Justice finished 11-of-16 for 162 yards and a scoring toss but also that final interception. The Hawks had 386 total yards but Friday’s loss drops Rossview to 3-2 on the season. More importantly, Rossview is in a difficult position with a 0-2 record in region play. The Hawks play host to Dickson County next Friday.

Rossview's KeyShawn McClendon had a huge night racking up 119 rushing yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.

The Hawks looked poised to take control of the game after trailing 35-21 early in the third quarter. Clarksville scored on its first possession of the second half. But the Hawks responded with a 17-play drive that took up most of the third quarter. It was capped by Justice’s 1-yard plunge to cut the lead to 35-28 with 43 seconds left in the period.

The Wildcats fumbled away its next possession as Rossview made the Wildcats pay.

It took the Hawks three plays and 85 yards to tie the game after Justice hit Czar Prado for a 66-yard pass play that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Justice to Kaylan Jefferson with 6:24 left in the game.

But the Wildcats settled down and engineered its own 12-play drive that Jones finished off with a 2-yard TD run with 3:16 left.

Neither team could gain the upper hand in the first half. There was only one punt the entire night. All other possessions either ended in a touchdown or a turnover, and Rossview tried a fake punt after their first possession of the game stalled.

Clarksville managed to go into halftime with a 28-21 lead after Malik Santiago's 17-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left in the first half.

Reach Prep writer George Robinson at 931-245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.

Yardage Fiend: Clarksville and Rossview were nearly impossible to stop offensively. The two teams combined to amass 844 yards of offense.

Jones vs. Justice: While J.J. damaged Rossview's defense using his feet, Justice was brilliant in the air. Jones ran for 194 yards while Justice threw for 162. Ironically, Jones was perfect in the air, going 6-for-6 but only had 46 yards.

The Warfield Shield: The annual bragging rights trophy returns to Clarksville High after Rossview held it for the past two years, including last year's 48-3 thumping of the Wildcats.

What's It all mean? It means Clarksville High takes another step toward another playoff berth. This was Shelby's signature win in his two-year tenure at CHS. For Rossview, all is not lost. The Hawks can get back into the race with a win next week against Dickson County.